


A New Voice

by CelticGrace



Series: Katie [4]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-03 18:02:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12151917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelticGrace/pseuds/CelticGrace
Summary: Admiral Hackett comes home from the office to discover Katie and Jeff have been messing with the voice on the VI controls. Again.Part of the "Ties that Bind Us" universe.





	A New Voice

It had been a very long, trying day, and all Hackett wanted to do was sit with a book and a scotch in front of the fireplace.  But all hopes of a quiet evening were dashed the moment he walked through the front door of his apartment.

He tried to call up the VI, to ensure he wasn’t disturbed except in case of emergency, but there was no response.  Instead, he heard giggles coming from around the corner.  That could only mean one thing: his daughter had gotten into the VI controls.

Again.

“Katie,” he said in a firm but not harsh tone, “why is the VI not responding?”

“Hi, Daddy.” Katie’s freckled face popped up over the half wall separating the entry from the hallway.  “You didn’t say the right name.”

Hackett raised an eyebrow.  “Since when has Patton not been the right name?”

Katie grinned but said nothing.

Hackett sighed.  “What name have you picked this time? Grissom? MacArthur? Powell? Dunwoody?” He wracked his tired brain for more military leaders, ones she hadn’t chosen before, but came up short.

“Alfred.”

“Yes, Miss?” replied a voice Hackett had heard before but couldn’t place.

Katie gave the VI instructions surprisingly similar to those he’d intended to give earlier.  “Thank you, Alfred.” She was practically buzzing with excitement by the time she was done.

Hackett knew why.  She wanted him to ask why she’d chosen the name.  

“Why the name change?” He put a hand on her mop of red hair to stop her from bouncing in place. “And why Alfred?”

“Batman.”

_ Ah. _  Of course it was. Batman was one of her favorite superheroes, second only to Wonder Woman.  “Batman?” Hackett repeated, feigning ignorance for the benefit of continuing the story. 

She nodded.  “Me an’ Jeff–”

“Jeff and I,” Hackett corrected.

“Jeff and  _ I _ ,” she repeated with a roll of her eyes, “watched Batman vs. Superman  over the weekend.”

“You watched every Batman movie ever made on repeat the entire Christmas break and yet didn’t break with the military theme last time you fiddled with the VI.”

She shrugged.  “This time, we decided to ignore Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and” she sniffled dramatically, “Diana, and only pay attention to everybody else.”

“You? Ignoring Wonder Woman?” Hackett placed a hand on his heart. “I’m shocked.”

She rolled her eyes again.  “Daddy.”

“You started it,” he teased. “Continue.”

She huffed. “ _ Any _ way.  As you know, Alfred is very wise, and he kicks a– um, butt.  And he puts up with a  _ lot _ .”  She smiled sweetly.  “Just like you.”

Hackett pressed a kiss to the top of her head.  “So kind of you to notice, sweetheart.” A thought struck him and he froze. “Did you change anyone else’s VI? Such as the Moreaus’?”

“Um… well…”

He put a finger under her chin, nudging it until she looked up at him. “Katie.”

She launched into a narrative about Jeff’s father overhearing their plans and, curious as to how they did it, as well as the least strict of the three parents, he allowed them to demonstrate on the Moreaus’ VI.

“And which name and voice did you choose?” 

_ In other words, am I going to get an angry call from Jeanette Moreau?  _

Katie shook her head.  “Didn’t.  Jeff did.”

_ Thank God.   _ “And what name did he choose?”

“Robinson, after one of the creators of The Joker.”

_ Oh no. _ “And the voice?”

She chewed her lip a moment.  “Mark Hamill.”

“As the Joker?”

She nodded.

Hackett pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed as she skipped away to the living room.

He was  _ definitely _ getting a call from Jeanette Moreau.

 


End file.
